AGEB: Let’s Boycott the European Parliament Elections, the Puppet of Imperialism!
Hereby we publish an unofficial translation of a statement from AGEB (Union of Migrant Workers in Europe) published here.
European Parliament elections will be held between 13 May and 9 June. The EU elections will be held in a period where attacks on the working class and laborers are increasing, in the shadow of the economic crisis in Europe and the economic and political attacks of the ruling classes. In this process where EU imperialists increase their oppression and exploitation policies on workers and laborers, they carry out many attacks such as austerity policies, freezing wages and cutting economic rights. Attacks on peasants and farmers under the name of Common Agricultural Policies, restrictions on the education rights of the youth, privatization of education and decreasing the quality of education cause the youth to abandon their education. Immigrants and refugees, as the strongest victims of the crisis and aggression, are the ones who feel the attacks in their lives more and more every day. Immigrants, who are the victims to the highest degree of the violation of rights and the crisis, are targets of racism and discrimination developed by the ruling powers.
EU imperialists, who have increased their attacks in along with the crisis, are taking a more active stance in occupations and market re-division, and are taking an attitude that is responsible for the massacres and increasing the size and scope of their attacks as an occupying power. They provide active support to the unjust wars in the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans and Ukraine. Support for unjust wars and occupations is increasing, and they are taking a more active stance in the struggle for sharing world markets. The European army, which is wanted to be formed within the scope of war and aggression policies, is a phenomenon that shows that the possibility of moving the conflict between imperialists from the economic field to the military field is increasing. At the same time, this formation will serve as a means of attack and suppression against the future struggles of the oppressed. War and aggression will continue to increase in the up coming period.
EU imperialists are enemies of the oppressed peoples and nations. The massacres committed by Zionist Israel in Gaza are carried out with the support of EU imperialists. Attacks and bans on actions and events carried out in solidarity with the people of Palestine are a joint decision of EU countries. While the massacre against a people who have been living under the occupation of the Fascist Israeli State for years in Gaza continues, the European Parliament’s overwhelming majority decision to recognize “Israel’s right to self-defense” is a clear example of how ‘democratic’ and ‘humane’ the EU structure is. It is clear that solidarity with the people of Palestine and the Palestinian liberation struggle requires taking an active stance against the war-mongering EU imperialists.
EU imperialists fuel racism and hostility towards immigrants, pave the way for and enable the rise of far-right and racist parties in individual countries and in the EU parliament. Recently, racist and far-right parties have found greater representation in local and central parliaments in all European countries. European imperialists are attacking the rights and successes of the working class and toilers, earned at great prices, for more profit, exploitation and market competition, and are dividing and disintegrating the masses in line with racist and chauvinistic policies. Bourgeois ruling forces are accelerating racist and anti-immigrant policies in line with their policies of divide and rule the working masses, escalating racism and fascist groups and Parties are supported and financed.
The blame for the crisis is placed on workers and the oppressed, and the working class is made the target of an intense economic and social attack. The bourgeoisie uses crisis processes as leverage to attack the class and working people.
Although the pandemic crisis and the SARS-Covid 19 epidemic initially created a problem for the production process and the capitalist system as a whole, it was turned into an opportunity for additional attack by anti-worker and anti-people laws. All the attacks reveal the reality of the European Union. The EU is the union of imperialist monopolies and the face of unjust wars, exploitation and barbarism. The face of imperialism-capitalism that is only concerned with the reproduction of its profits and political superiority over its opponents. It is clear to anyone who cares to see that the EU is governed by a handful of imperialist countries. These countries promote the exploitation of the bourgeoisie against all other peoples and working classes, and at the same time exploit the wealth of the remaining dependent countries. This is the reality of the European Union. A union dominated by contradictions and antagonism is a union doomed to failure.
This rotten and exploitative structure also needs talks that deceive the masses with false democracy and welfare talks in order to manipulate the masses. The aim is to create the illusion that the attacks, exploitation and war policies can be changed through elections, working in the EU parliament and strong participation. But the truth is that the European Parliament is a puppet with no meaningful and decisive function, a toy of imperialist monopolies to deceive the European peoples and distract them from their struggles. The only function of the EU parliament is to bring more exploitation and oppression to the European people and more profit to the monopolies.
By seeing this reality, it is necessary to understand that real struggle means strengthening the struggles of the working class and toilers and to rise this struggle. The strikes that broke out in France for the right to a decent pension, the strikes of transport workers in Germany and Spain, and the struggles of the farmers and peasants, as has recently happened in France and Greece. The struggle of workers and oppressed peoples and the path to liberation certainly do not pass through EU elections. The path to liberation lies in the struggle against the EU imperialists. We refuse to legitimize the EU elections and be part of the game that will take place. We call on the working masses to not participate in the EU elections and emphasize that they should not be a part of this game.
We call on the people of Europe to BOYCOTT the European elections, which are a theater and farce, and to be active subjects of the struggle against the policies of the European Union. We call on all anti-fascist, anti-imperialist, progressive and revolutionary forces to take a stance against the European Union elections.
– BOYCOTT THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS!
– DOWN WITH ANTI-WORKER AUSTERITY POLICIES AND SOCIAL BARBARISM!
– LET’S MAKE GROWN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST WAR, RACISM AND FASCISM!
AGEB (UNION OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN EUROPE)
May 27, 2024
